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 Lesson 1: The Self from Philosophy 

 
SOCARTES- The true task of the Philosopher is to know oneself: " the unexamined life is not worth
living" 
 PHILOSOPHY ABOUT SELF 
 Every man is composed of body and soul hence, dualistic. 
 Pre-Socratics and the Socratics 
 Arche as the primary  
 Concerned with the problem of the self. 
 All individuals have an imperfect, impermanent 
aspect of him, and the body, while maintaining that 
there is also a soul that is perfect and permanent. 
 
PLATO-  
 PHILOSOPHY ABOUT SELF 
 Took off from his master and supported the idea that 
man is dual nature of body and soul. 
 Student of Socrates 
 The rational soul forged by reason and the intellect has to 
govern the affairs of the human person. 
 Three components of the soul:  Rational Soul, spirited soul and appetitive soul. 
 Rational soul- forged by reason and the intellect has to govern the affairs of the human person. 
 Spirited soul- part which is in charge of emotions should be kept at bay 
 Appetitive soul- in charge of base desires like eating, sleeping, 
drinking and having sex should be controlled too. 
 Plato emphasizes that justice can only be attained if the three parts of the soul are working
harmoniously with one another. 
 
 
AUGUSTINE- 
 PHILOSOPHY ABOUT SELF 
 THE BODY IS BOUND TO DIE ON EARTH AND THE SOUL IS TO ANTICIPATE LIVING ETERNALLY IN
A REALM OF SPIRITUAL BLISS IN COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 The body can only thrive in the imperfect, physical reality that is the world, whereas the soul
can also stay after death in the eternal realm with the transcendent God. 
 The goal of every human person is to attain this communion and bliss with the divine by living
his life on earth in virtue. 
 
THOMAS AQUINAS- SOUL MAKES US HUMAN 
 The most eminent thirteenth century scholar and stalwart of medieval philosophy. 
 Aquinas said that indeed, man is composed of two parts: matter and form. 
 Matter (hyle) refers to the common stuff that makes up everything in the universe. 
Man’s body is part of this matter. 
 Form (morphe) refers to the essence of a substance or thing. 
 What makes a human person a human person and not a dog, or a tiger is his soul, his ESSENCE. 
 
RENE DESCARTES- THE SELF THEN IS A MIND. 
  Father of Modern Philosophy 
 He conceived of the human person as having a body and a mind. 
 Self has two distinct entities, the cogito, the thing that thinks, which is the mind, and the
extenza or extension of the mind, which is the body. 
 In Descarte’s view, the body is nothing else but a machine that is attached to the mind. 
 What makes man a man is the mind. 
 
DAVID HUME- THE SELF IS NOTHING ELSE BUT A BUNDLE OF EMOTION. 
 Scottish philosopher, who has a very unique way of looking at man. 
 Hume argues that the self is not nothing like what his predecessors thought of it. 
 Experience can categorized into 2; Impression- basic objects of our experience. Ideas- copy of
impression. 
 
IMMANUEL KANT- Along with the different apparatuses of the mind goes the “self.” 
 There is necessarily a mind that organizes the impressions that men get from the external
world. 
 Without the self, one cannot organize the different impressions that one gets in relation to his
own existence. 
 the self is not just what gives one his personality. In addition, it is also a seat of
knowledge acquisition for all human persons. 
 
GILBERT RYLE- 
 blatantly denies the concept of an internal, non-physical self. 
 what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day life. 
 “self” is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that people
use to refer to all the behaviors that people make. 
 
MERLEU-PONTY- the mind and body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one
another. 
 phenomenologist who asserts that the mind-body bifurcation that has been going on for a long
time is a futile endeavor and an invalid problem. 
 One cannot find any experience that is not an embodied experience. 
 Because of these bodies, men are in the world. 
 the Cartesian problem is nothing else but plain misunderstanding. 
 
Lesson 2: Mead and The Social Self 
 
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM- "the person" and "the social self" where the boundaries cannot easily be
separated from the boundaries of the other. 
 Self should not be seen as a static entity that stays constant through and through. 
 Self has to be seen that is unceasing flux. 
 
MARCEL MAUSS- French Anthropologist. 
 Self has two face: - Personne and Moi 
 
THE SELF AND CULTURE 
Personne- composed of social concepts of what it means to be who he is. 
Moi- person's basic identity, his body and biological givenness. 
 
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD- known for his Theory of Social Self, which is based on the central argument
that the self is a social emergent. 
 Social Concept of self = product of social interaction and not the logical or biological
precondition of that interaction. 
 Mind arises out of the social act of communication. 
  
THREE ACTIVITIES THROUGH WHICH SELF IS DEVELOPED: 
1. Language- allows individual to take the "role of the others" and allows people to respond in her
gestures in terms of symbolized attitude of other. 
2. Play- individuals take on the role of other and pretend to be those other people in order to
express the expectation of the significant others. 
ROLE PLAYING- key to the generation of self-consciousness and to the general development of the self. 
 3. Game- individual is required to internalize the role of all the other who are involved with him
in the game and must comprehend the rule of the game. 
 
The Self has two sides:  
ME- considered a phase of the self that is in the past. 
       - represent the expectation and attitudes of other. (the generalized other) 
       - the organized set of attitudes of other that the individual assumes. 
       - socialized aspect of the individual. 
       - represents the learned behaviour, attitudes, and expectation of others and society. 
       - developed by the knowledge of society and social interaction that the individual has gained. 
I - the present and future phase of the self. 
  - represent individual's identity based on the response to the "me" 
  - response to the person's individuality. 
  - allows individual to still express creativity and individualism. 
 
I- the spontaneous, driving force that fosters all that is novel, and the unorganized self. 
ME- the objective self, the image of the self seen when one takes the role of other. 
 
SELF IN FAMILIES: traits, character, values, moral 
GENDER AND THE SELF: MACHISMO CULTURE AND PATRIARCHY, LGBTQI 
 
Lesson 3: The Physiological Self-Awareness 
 
A. Real and Ideal self-concepts  
Carl Rogers  
(1902-1987)- a humanistic psychologist  
                      - agreed with the main assumptions of Abraham Maslow,
but                                                  added that for a person to “grow” 
                      - they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness
and self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard),
and empathy (being listened to and understood).  
  
SELF- ACTUALIZATION- “The organism  has  one  basic  tendency  and  striving  - to  actualize,
maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” 
  humans have one basic motive, that is the  tendency  to self-actualize 
 the potential of  the individual human  is unique,  and  we  are  meant  to  develop 
in  different  ways  according  to  our personality.  
 Rogers  believed  that  people  are inherently  good  and  creative. 
 Carl Rogers believed  that  for  a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in
a state of congruence.  
 
This means that self-actualization occurs when a person’s “ideal self” (i.e., who they
would like to be) is congruent with their behavior (self-image).  
 
The Fully Functioning Person 
 Five characteristics of the fully functioning person:  
1.Open to experience: both positive and negative emotions accepted. Negative
feelings are not denied, but worked through 
2.Existential  living:  in  touch  with  different  experiences  as  they occur in life,
avoiding prejudging and preconceptions. Being able to live and fully appreciate
the present, not always looking back to the past or forward to the future  
3.Trust feelings: feelings, instincts, and gut-reactions are paid attention  to  and 
trusted.  People’s  own  decisions  are  the  right ones, and we should trust
ourselves to make the right choices.  
4.  Creativity:  creative  thinking  and  risk-taking  are  features  of  a person’s life. A
person does not play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and
change and seek new experiences.  
5.  Fulfilled life: a person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for
challenges and experiences.  
 
Personality Development  
 Personality theory is the notion of self or self-concept. This is defined as “the
organized, consistent set of perceptions  and  beliefs about oneself.” 
 The self-concept includes three components:  
1.Self-worth (or self-esteem) - what we think about ourselves. 
                                                       -  self-worth  developed  in  early  childhood  and  were
formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father. 
 
2.Self-image - How we see ourselves, which is important to good psychological health.
Self-image includes the influence of our body image on inner personality. 
3.Ideal self - This is the person who we would like to be. It consists of our goals and
ambitions in life, and is dynamic  
 
Self-Worth and Positive Regard  
 Self-worth may be seen as a continuum from very high to very low. 
 a person who has high self-worth, that is, has confidence and  positive  feelings 
about  him  or  herself,  faces  challenges in  life,  accepts failure and unhappiness
at times and is open with people.  
 A person with low self-worth may avoid challenges in life, not accept that  life  can 
be  painful  and  unhappy  at times  and  will be defensive  and guarded with other
people.  
 Positive regard is not withdrawn if the person does something wrong or makes a
mistake. 
 Unconditional positive regard is where parents, significant others (and the humanist
therapist) accepts and loves the person for what he or she is.  
  The consequences of unconditional positive regard are that the person feels free to
try things out and make mistakes, even though this may lead to getting it worse at
times.  
 Conditional  positive regard  is  where  positive  regard,  praise,  and approval,
depend upon  the child 
 
Congruence- Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very
similar. 
-The development of congruence is dependent on unconditional positive regard.  
-Congruence happens when the ideal, real, and self-image converge. It is when Ideal self  is
closer to the real self.  
Incongruence- is  “a discrepancy between  the actual experience of  the organism and  the
self-picture of  the individual insofar as it represents  that experience.  
-Incongruence happens when our ideal self, self-mage and real self diverge. It is when  our
actions do not conform with our feelings.   
 
 
 
Self-awareness- presents us with three other self-schema; the actual, ideal, and ought self.   
                           - we  are  aware  of  our  self-concept. 
 
Real Self/ Actual Self  
❑ It’s the self that feels most true to what and who we really are.  
❑ How we think, feel, and look  
❑ This is who you are at the moment  
Ideal Self  
❑ This is the person who we would like to be.  
❑ It is dynamic and forever changing  
❑ An idealized version of yourself created out of what you have learned from your life 
experiences, the demands of society, and what you admire in your role models.  
Ought self  
❑ This is who you think you should be.  
❑ This is the person that you should be doing at the moment to achieve your ideal self.  
 
THEORIES OF SELF-AWARENESS  
1. SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY   
It says that we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as our 
social status by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people. (Jhangiani and Tarry)  
2. SELF-EVALUATION MAINTENANCE THEORY  
It states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs us, especially when that 
person is close to us. (Tesser 1988 in Jhangiani and Tarry)  
 
 
 
TRUE SELF   FALSE SELF  
• Like their bodies   • Pessimistic  
• Appreciate their qualities   • Take no risks  
• Do  not  compare  yourself   • Focus on faults  
with others   • Happy to imitate others  
• Speak to yourself kindly   • Critical of themselves  
• Proactive   • Blaming  
• Accept your emotions and    • Look  defeated  and   
know  how  to  express   depressed  
them   • Repress their emotions  
• Optimistic   • Suspicious of praises  
• Welcome  the  praise  of    • Compare themselves with   
others   others  
• Confident   • Narcissistic  (feeling  you   
• Look  for  challenge  and    exists   
adventure   Only  when  you  enjoy  the   
• Live the present moment  attention of  the   
other)  
• Think  they are important   
because  of  their   
possessions 
HOW TO LOVE AND DEVELOP YOUR TRUE SELF  
1. God loves you   
2. Accept yourself as you are  
3. Forgive yourself  
4. Nurture yourself  
5. Set boundaries  
6. Affirm yourself  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Lesson 4: EASTERN AND WESTERN THOUGHTS 
 
-First is Confucianism. Confucianism can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one  should act
according to their relationship with other people; thus, it is also focused on having  a harmonious
social life (Ho 1995). Therefore the identity and status of his/her community or  culture,  sharing 
its  pride  as  well  as  its  failures  (Ho  1995).  Then  individual  is  subdued  or  repressed for the
welfare of the community.   
 
-The second philosophical belief is Taoism. It is living in the way of the Tao or universe. The  self is
not just an extension of the family or the community; it is part of the universe, one of the  forms and
manifestations of  the Tao  (Ho 1995). The ideal self is selflessness but  this is not  forgetting about 
the self, it is living a balanced life with society and nature, being open and  accepting to change. This
way of life is not legalistic, but rather a spontaneous act which is in  harmony with everything.   
 
-The third belief is Buddhism. Buddhism sees the self as an illusion. It is aware that the self  is the
source of all the pains and sufferings that we experience. It is therefore our quest to forget  the self,
get rid of all attachments, and thus to attain the state of bliss, which is Nirvana. 
 
 Eastern  or  more  specifically  Asian  culture  is  a  collectivistic  culture  while  the Western 
culture is what we would call an individualistic culture  
  One can also describe  that the Western thought looks at the world in dualities wherein you
are distinct from other  person, the creator is separated from the object he created, in
which the self is distinguished  and  acknowledged 
  Eastern  perspective  sees  the  other  person as part of yourself as well as the things you
may create, a drama in which everyone is  interconnected with their specific roles 
 
 Individualistic Self 
 The  individual  identifies  primarily  with  self,  with  the  needs  of  the  individual  being 
satisfied  before  those  of  the  group.  Looking  after  and  taking  care  of  oneself,  being 
self sufficient, guarantees the well-being of the group.  
  Individualism, states that each individual is  acting on his or her own, making their own
choices, and to the extent they interact with the  rest of the group. Independence and self-
reliance are greatly stressed and valued 
Traits of Individualism  
• "I" identity  
• Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement.  
• Individual rights are seen as being the most important. Rules attempt to ensure self importance
and individualism.  
• Independence  is  valued;  there  is  much  less  of  a  drive  to  help  other  citizens  or 
communities than in collectivism.  
• Relying or being dependent on others is frequently seen as shameful. • People are encouraged to
do things on their own; to rely on themselves • People strive for their own successes  
 
 
Collectivistic Self 
 Collectivism views the group as the primary entity, with the individuals lost along the  way.
The survival and success of the group ensures the well-being of the individual, so that by 
considering the needs and feelings of others, one protects oneself.  
  It sees the group as the  important element, and individuals are just members of the group. 
 .The group has its own  values somehow different from those of the individual members.   
Traits of Collectivism  
• Each person is encouraged to be an active player in society, to do what is best for  society as a
whole rather than themselves.  
• The rights of families, communities, and the collective supersede those of the  individual.  
• Rules promote unity, brotherhood, and selflessness.  
• Working with others and cooperating is the norm; everyone supports each other. • As a
community, family or nation more than as an individual  
 
 
Both collectivist and individualistic cultures have their failings. People in individualist 
cultures are susceptible to loneliness, and people in collectivist cultures can have a strong 
fear of rejection.